What’s the story?
Lionel Messi is all set to sign a new contract that will keep him at Barcelona until 2022, according to a report by News18. The Argentine superstar will put pen to paper on a bumper new deal that will see him become the highest paid player in Europe.
The report also adds that Messi is likely to earn a whopping £30 million per year should he sign the new contract.
In case you didn’t know…
There have been a lot of speculation regarding the Argentine’s future at the Catalonian club over the past few weeks. With only 18 months remaining on his contract, there was some amount of uncertainty around Camp Nou regarding Messi’s future. Several reports had emerged claiming that Messi had rejected a new contract in 2016 and wanted to keep his options open.
The heart of the matter
Barcelona had already handed new improved contracts to Neymar and Luis Suarez earlier in 2016 but their attempts to tie down Messi had been shot down. With the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s contract running out in 2018, there was an impending fear that he will move on a free transfer.
Reports claimed that Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola was eager to reunite with Messi and was willing to offer Barcelona more than £100m for the move.
Amidst all the speculation, club CEO Oscar Grau had disclosed that with the new spending cap imposed by the La Liga committee it would be difficult to offer Messi what he wanted. Club director Pere Gratacos also went on to make controversial comments that the 29-year-old playmaker would not be as good without Andres Iniesta and Neymar by his side.
However, Messi’s father had calmed down some nerves by revealing that everything was going according to plan and the playmaker would stay at the club for a long time. In a recent interview, even Messi had revealed that he would stay at Barcelona for as long as the club wanted him to.
What next?
All Barcelona fans can breathe a sigh of relief with this news. Until last week speculations were rife of the impending departure of their beloved player. But now that Messi is all set to sign the new contract, everything will be forgotten and forgiven.
Sportskeeda’s take
Messi has proved time and again that he is the best footballer of the current generation. He is meant to stay at Barcelona for the rest of his career. With both the player and the club keen on keeping their association, it is now only a matter of time before the formalities are completed.
